Ryosuke turned his head and looked at the more than ten warriors still standing there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
They had rushed behind, half a beat slower, and didn't have time to follow their lord in "perishing together like shattered jade."
"You're not leaving?" Ryosuke asked.
The warriors looked at each other.
Some knelt on both knees, faced the direction where their daimyo had died, and committed seppuku.
Some turned their heads and fled.
In the end only one remained. He walked to Ryosuke, bowed nervously.
"Milord, can I… take the daimyo's head back?"
Ryosuke waved his hand. "Do as you please."
The warrior once again bowed deeply to Ryosuke, took off his clothes, wrapped the daimyo's head, carried it, and turned to leave.
It was over.
Ryosuke threw away the weapon in his hand, looked at his dirty clothes, and decided to go back and take a bath.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached, tap, tap, tap. Ryosuke turned around.
Terumi Mei threw herself into his arms.
Ryosuke awkwardly spread his arms, not knowing whether to push her away or to give her a hug like this. Suddenly, he heard faint sobs.
Hot tears fell on his chest. Terumi Mei choked and said, "It's great… It's over, thank you, Ryosuke…"
Ryosuke's stiffness gradually faded. "Yes, it's over."
The Bloody Mist era was over.
Not only the Bloody Mist era of Kirigakure, but also the tragedy of the Land of Water.
The daimyo had three sons. No matter who came to power, they would ponder the cause of their father's death and restrain their desires.
This was not a hug with any lust.
It was the kind of celebration between survivors who had gone through hell, stepping over the corpses of demons to walk out of calamity.
The diehard faction sat down on the ground, dejected.
The reform faction embraced each other in tears, cheering loudly.
The joy belonged not only to them, the news of Yagura and the daimyo's deaths spread like a gust of wind through the streets and alleys, throughout the whole village.
———
[Red-light Street]
Iwamine sat by the window, lit a lady's cigarette, took a puff, then set it on the windowsill.
"To mourn the poor women who died on this street."
Hugging her knees, she gazed through the curling smoke toward the direction of the battle's center, recalling Ryosuke's smile.
"Milord, you really are remarkable."
———
[Residential District]
Ryuna and Chojuro held hands, standing on the rooftop, looking up at the twinkling stars.
"Ryuna, is this a miracle?"
"Yes."
"A miracle that belongs to us."
As she spoke, she gently kissed Chojuro on the cheek.
———
Similar conversations took place in the streets and alleys.
Zabuza, exhausted, sat on the ground, gave Ryosuke a thumbs-up from afar, and said, "You're impressive."
Ryosuke smiled. His arms were no longer stiff. He lightly patted Terumi Mei's back and leaned toward her ear, saying,
"The Bloody Mist era is over, but your work has just begun… Fifth Mizukage, Lady Terumi Mei."
"Eh?"
Terumi Mei jerked her head up.
"Me?"
Ryosuke shrugged. "Who else but you? Once you become Mizukage, we can talk about the last 'reward.'"
Ryosuke had acted with three conditions.
A piece of land to establish a village.
Terumi Mei becoming Mizukage.
And a promise. As for what the promise was, Ryosuke had never mentioned it.
Terumi Mei saw the seriousness in Ryosuke's eyes, loosened her embrace, and with equal seriousness said, "No matter what the promise is, I will agree."
Pain gazed at the cheering crowd and said to Konan at his side, "He… is indeed special. They remind me of some people from the past. If I had been stronger back then, maybe I could have made everyone smile like this too."
Konan shook her head. "Everyone has their own path to walk, their own problems to solve. It's just that, back then, we weren't so lucky, we encountered problems we couldn't solve. As for 'him,' what do you plan to do?"
The "him" in Konan's mouth referred to the escaping Obito.
This man, claiming to be Uchiha Madara, after today's defeat, could not possibly give up.
Pain and he were collaborators, would they now work together against Ryosuke?
Or would their cooperation end here, parting ways?
Konan hoped for the latter.
"I will talk to him," Pain said. "But how to decide, I want to wait until your 'observation' ends, and hear your opinion of Ryosuke over this period."
"Alright."
Pain glanced at the cheering crowd, a flicker of complicated emotion passing through the indifferent Rinnegan, then all dissipated.
He was no longer the emotional Nagato of the past.
He was the leader of Akatsuki.
He was the god of Amegakure.
He was Pain, the embodiment of suffering.
Pain's gaze finally fell on Ryosuke.
"I hope we will not become enemies."
With that, he turned and left.
———
It was a busy night.
Victory did not mean work was over.
Under the influence of the Three-Tails and Planetary Devastation, a large area had become ruins, with many people buried beneath. Ninjas began rescue work.
Thanks to Aerosmith's carbon dioxide detection, by the next morning, all survivors were rescued and were receiving treatment in the temporarily built medical area.
After that came disaster reconstruction, Mizukage elections, trials and purges of the diehard faction, and public announcements of the truth, one thing after another.
Ryosuke did not participate. He stayed with Sasuke, Rei, Mayuri, and Konan at a hot spring inn, enjoying rare leisure.
Ryosuke met Terumi Mei again a week later.
Wearing the Mizukage robe, Terumi Mei looked a bit more dignified than usual, her eyes sharper. Now that Kirigakure was in the midst of rebuilding, every decision she made had to be decisive and swift.
But as soon as her subordinates closed the entrance door, Terumi Mei immediately took off the Mizukage robe, threw it aside, and lay on the table without caring about her image, pouring out her complaints to Ryosuke.
"I really shouldn't have agreed to you, to be Mizukage."
"Big sis, eat."
Rei handed her an orange.
Terumi Mei spread her hands, showing she was too tired to peel it, then turned her pitiful eyes toward Ryosuke.
Ryosuke chuckled, took the orange, peeled it, and placed it in her palm.
"You've worked hard."
"It is hard work."
Terumi Mei ate the orange, letting out a faint sigh of satisfaction. "But seeing the village get better bit by bit, I feel it's worth it no matter how hard it is."
She clapped her hands, took a deep breath, and sat up straight again.
"This time I came for two things."
"One is that tomorrow night, everyone plans to hold a celebration banquet, and we want to invite you all to join."
Sasuke cheered, "Nice, a feast!"
"The other is to pay the third 'reward.'"
Terumi Mei stared into Ryosuke's eyes,
"What exactly is the promise you spoke of?"
Not only was Terumi Mei curious, but Sasuke, Rei, Mayuri, and Konan in the room all turned their eyes to Ryosuke, waiting for his answer.
'What would the so-called "promise" be?'
'Yagura's amassed wealth?'
'The authority to command Kirigakure's ninjas to kill?'
'Or perhaps…'
A beauty like Terumi Mei herself?
They couldn't think of anything else worth Ryosuke's solemn attitude.
Ryosuke didn't keep them guessing and said, "I hope you will make it so that Kirigakure's ninjas no longer only serve the powerful, but spare some manpower to take care of the common people in the Land of Water."
"I hope you will not be bound by the borders of the Five Great Nations, but maintain a certain degree of friendly contact with other countries' ninja villages."
After speaking, Ryosuke picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Five pairs of eyes stared blankly at him.
Terumi Mei asked, "Only this?"
"Only this," Ryosuke said.
"Take care of the common people in the Land of Water and have good diplomacy with other ninja villages… but why?"
Terumi Mei didn't understand.
Ryosuke put down the teacup, instead throwing back another question,
"Who do you think our enemy is?"
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